Being a Gen-X'er, I bought into the life-script of go to college, get good grades, get a "real job" with good pay and benefits, work for 30+ years, and retire with a big nest egg. What they (society) doesn't tell you is that while the old rules worked fine for Joe and Jane Average 30-40 years ago, they don't work so well now. The ROI of an expensive college education is becoming increasingly questionable, given the current environment of wage stagnation, globalization, and automation technology.

Speaking for myself, despite the Great Recession and mediocre wages (the best I ever get is 3% annual raises), I have been moderately prosperous for the past 15 years. I haven't let "lifestyle inflation" cut into my savings rate, and I run a tight ship financially as I have no credit card debt and my only debt is a 30-year mortgage. In addition to my day job income, I average $700 per month from my dividend investing portfolio which is currently yielding approximately 10% annually. It has taken me 8 years of steady investing to get here, and I'm almost at the point where my dividend income can pay for my minimum monthly mortgage payment (should I so choose). Making money without trading one's time is a truly wonderful thing.

As for "side hustles" or moonlighting, I think it has become a necessary tool in overcoming wage stagnation. While I don't have a side-hustle, I am considering doing side work as a freelance writer to cultivate a third source of income and to have greater opportunities than what my day job can provide.

If you really want your eyes opened about how the game is played and how to use a different playbook to get ahead, then read the following books:

* Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
* The 4-Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss
* The Millionaire Fastlane by MJ DeMarco

I agree that the workers should do more than just take it up the ass with a smile and a "Thank yuh massa!" By holding their severance package hostage, management has workers by the balls. Collective action would be the best way to send a clear message to management, but unfortunately, organizing people is damn tough, especially when livelihoods are on the line. IT workers are pretty much on their own. Government won't help. There's no union to help. In short, stop waiting for somebody to rescue you.

But here's some food for thought: What if people had a second or third source of income? Even if those alternate sources of income were much smaller than their day job's income, the balance of power would certainly change. I think it's imperative that workers cultivate alternate sources of income AKA side hustles.

Over the past 8 years I've been doing dividend investing and putting my money to work for me. Now I make an average of $700 every month for doing nothing (passive income FTW!!). This isn't enough to enable my financial independence, but it is enough to give me more options in life. Ultimately, having F*** You money should be any worker's long term goal.

Wow. You really came into this prepared. How long did it take you to research all this since the article appeared on Slashdot? Did you have some help tovarisch?
This is about Russia's current bad behavior, not the sins of the US. Nice try.
The bottom line is that Crimea is a semi-autonomous territory that is part of Ukraine and has been since it was legally given to Ukraine in 1954. Russia's annexation of Crimea has absolutely NO legal basis at all. The referendum was a farce, and everybody knows it.
Crimea is heavily dependent on Ukrainian tourism and resources (water and electricity being the most important). Kiev should take maximum advantage of that and exert massive economic pressure on the Crimean peninsula. Ban all Ukrainian tourism and strangle business transactions with red tape. Raise the price of electricity and water to the sky (and if necessary, phase out water and electricity completely. Let Russia pay for building new infrastructure to its new prize.)
With Crimea an economic drain and in combination with Western sanctions, Russia's economy will suffer as it hasn't suffered since the 90's. I'm sure the Russian public will appreciate this....
If Russia still refuses to surrender Crimea, then Ukraine should escalate to the next level and implement low-level guerrilla warfare. Ukraine has a proud history of partisan warfare. Operating in Crimea, a few dozen sniper teams and a few hundred special forces would send dozens of young Russian soldiers back to the motherland in zinc boxes every day. Unless Russia wants Crimea to turn into another prolonged conflict like Chechnya, Putin would be wise to let Crimea go and worry about the damage to the Russian economy and its relations with the world.

Because, financially, China has the West (especially the US) by the balls and everybody knows it. "If you're unhappy about our alleged cyberespionage, then you'll be even more unhappy when we buy fewer bonds or make fewer investments in your country."

You're both right (self-congratulatory claptrap) and wrong (communism just doesn't work very well). There was no single factor that caused the economic collapse of the Soviet Union, but the most under-reported significant causes were grain (the USSR had no choice but to buy foreign grain to feed its increasingly urbanized population) and oil (the sharp drop in oil prices was a major economic blow). For a more lengthy look into the role of grain and oil in the USSR's collapse, see this article or download the PDF of the article.

USB drives?? Think bigger. A 1 TB external HD is far more effective if physical size and convenience of portability are less of a concern. I'm sure many co-workers and college dorm students already share files via external hard drives.

If there were a country with minimal tax, strong protection from the government, freedom to think and act - I know I would move there.
Better start packing then. This place is a Republican wet dream come true. Minimal taxes, practically no government, and a free market economy! Check out their site for tourists!